The tragic story of human history

During the past 2,500 years there have been more than 1,000 wars in the western world alone. What does that tell you about the chances for peace?

Prof. Paul Eidelberg, 25/11/18 22:16 | updated: 22:11

Paul Eidelberg

PR

Prof. Paul Eidelberg

Prof. Paul Eidelberg (Ph.D. University of Chicago), former officer U.S. Air Force, is the founder and president of the Israel-America Renaissance Institute (I-ARI), www.i-ari.org, with offices in Jerusalem and Philadelphia. He has written several books on American and on Jewish Statesmanship. His magnum opus The Judeo-Scientific Foundations of American Exceptionalism: Today’s Choice for the “Almost Chosen People" is in process of publication. Prof. Eidelberg lives in Jerusalem.

That Israel is a peace-loving nation is a fact that will not be questioned by candid historians. But does this fact reflect a realistic state of mind or mere wishful thinking on the part of Israel’s Jewish leaders? A survey of history indicates that wishful thinking has animated these Jews. Consider the following data:

During the past 2,500 years there have been more than 1,000 wars in the western world alone. That’s an average one war every 2.5 years! Hence the norm of international relations is not peace but war. This means that “peace" is little more than a preparation for war, and that peace treaties are worthless!

This is the conclusion of Lawrence Beilenson's book The Treaty Trap. After studying every peace treaty going back to early Roman times, Beilenson concludes that treaties can only benefit nations governed by rulers intending to violate them whenever it’s expedient.

Serious research on war and peace yields two basic lessons:

First lesson: There is no such thing as a "peace process". Israel’s 1979 peace treaty with Egypt was nothing more than a cease-fire, since Egypt facilitated the smuggling of arms to terrorists in Gaza. Middle East expert Daniel Pipes stated that Israel’s 1979 treaty with Egypt has been a failure.

Second lesson: If you want peace, prepare for war; if you want war, make concessions for peace. Hence, a Palestinian state is a recipe for war, and to Israel’s greatest disadvantage. Moreover, no agreement regarding demilitarization of a Palestinian state, and no U.S. guarantee that such a state would remain demilitarized, would be worth the paper it was written on.

As Anwar Sadat said: “Poor Menachem [Begin], he has his problems ... After all, I got back the Sinai and the Alma oil fields, and what has Menachem got? A piece of paper.”